Snake!

"Who said, Snake!" I ran out the front door. My 6 year old son was shrieking and running towards me. He was yelling in one of those hoarse voices choked with fear, "Snake! Snake! Snake! Snake!"

I wanted to scoop him up and run into the house but I knew that I needed to know exactly what kind of snake it was for the future. So I walked carefully in the direction he pointed. Sure enough, there was a 3 foot black snake leisurely slithering through the front yard. I kept my eyes on the snake while I directed (screamed) for the older girls to open the garage door & grab the shovel, and to bring me my cell phone. My plan was to bring the edge of the shovel down and sever it's head. Nope, didn't work. Instead I found myself pushing the shovel into the thick grass just holding it in one place. It squirmed and really was quite strong as it attempted to push the shovel off of it.

I punched in the numbers on my cell one handed and called my mother who was just a mile down the road. "SNAKE!" Where she says? Is it rattling? I'll be right there.

Rattling? No, it wasn't but does that mean rattle snakes aren't unlikey? I wanted to faint. But there are 5 (screaming) children to be brave for and protect.

My mother arrives and pronounces the snake, "Beneficial." She scooped it up and put it in the bushes at the end of the driveway. A bull snake she thinks. It will eat mice in the yard.

I shooed all the kids indoors. Enough outdoor adventure for the day. Time for some good old suburban normal. And I flipped on the switch of the portable DVD player and poured myself another cup of coffee.

Where was my husband? He was taking 200 lbs of garbage to the dump. Garbage service in the country isn't what it used to be...